Orthopedic bed covering



O t. 3. 1967 J. M. mm 3,344,446

ORTHOPEDIC BED COVERING Filed Aug. 13, 1965 INVENTOR.

JUNE M. TRITT BY 4ndrus 2 StarKL United States Patent f 3,344,446 ORTHOPEDIC BED COVERING June M. Tritt, Rte. 2, Omro, Wis. 54963 Filed Aug. 13, 1965, Ser. No. 479,392 6 Claims. (Cl. 334) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to an orthopedic bed covering for use with a patient with a leg in traction. The bed covering such as a sheet is generally rectangular in shape and one side edge of the covering is provided with a pair of generally parallel slits. The first slit receives the leg in traction and the second slit, which is located between the first slit and the head of the covering, receives the traction mechanism. In addition, a separate top section overlies the leg in traction and extends from the first slit to the bottom of the covering.

This invention relates to an orthopedic bed covering and more particularly to a blanket or sheet to be used for a patient having a leg in traction or for other medical or surgical purposes in which a leg requires a practical covering.

A leg is held in traction by a weighted cable system in which a sling is attached to the upper portion of the thigh and a rope cable attached to the sling is trained over a series of pulleys and supports the lower portion of the leg and is then connected to a weight located .at the foot of the bed. By proper adjustment of the weight the leg is held at an inclined position at an angle to the horizontal. Because the leg in traction is inclined, the standard sheet or blanket forms an unsatisfactory tentlike covering over the inclined leg with the result that portions of the patients body may be exposed and, in addition, the patient may be subjected to drafts. In some cases, attempts have been made to pin the sheet to the bottom or sides of the bed or to pin the sheet around the affected leg. Pinning is not satisfactory because it restricts the movement of the patient as well as making it inconvenient to examine the leg or perform other functions which require the removal of the conventional sheet.

The present invention is directed to an orthopedic bed covering such as a sheet or blanket which is particularly adaptable for use with a patient with a leg in traction. More specifically, the bed covering is generally rectangular in shape and one side edge of the covering is provided with a pair of slits. The first of the pair of slits extends inwardly to a position substantially at the center of the covering and the leg in traction extends through this slit. The second of the pair of slits is located between the] first slit and the head of the sheet and the traction mechanism extends through the second slit and is trained over the pulley system which is supported on a frame above the bed.

In addition, a separate top section overlies the leg in traction and is connected by tie strings to the main covering along the first slit. With this arrangement, the main covering covers the patient with the leg in traction extending upwardly through the slit in the covering. The separate covering section is then draped over the leg in traction and is tied to the main covering along the slit.

As the main sheet or covering lies substantially fiat over the patients body it can be tucked into the bottom and sides of the bed so that the patients body is not unduly exposed and the patient will not be subjected to drafts. In addition, the overlying sheet section being draped over the leg in traction helps cover and protect the leg. As a further advantage, the leg in traction can be easily worked on by merely flipping the overlying section oft" of the leg 3,344,44- Patented Oct. 3, 1967 in traction and the main sheet does not have to be removed from the patients body in order to examine or work on the leg in traction.

The sheet can be used vfor a patient having either a right or a left leg in traction by merely reversing the sheet from side-to-side on the bed.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following description.

The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a hospital bed having a patient with a leg in traction and employing the bed covering of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the bed covering of the invention with the overlying section removed from its normal overlying position.

The drawings illustrate a bed it having a covering 2 which covers a patient 3 having a leg in traction. The bed covering 2 can either be a sheet, blanket, bedspread, or the like, and the term sheet as used in the specification and claims is intended to cover any type of cloth, fabric or plastic covering for a bed or the like.

The traction mechanism which is used to apply traction to the patients leg is of standard construction and forms no part of the invention. The mechanism includes a sling 4 which is attached to the upper portion of the thigh of the patient and a rope 5 is connected to the sling and extends over a pulley 6 mounted on frame 7. Rope 5 also extends over a pulley 8, then downwardly and is looped around the leg 9 of the patient and then extends upwardly over pulleys It} and 11 and is connected to a weight 12 which is located at the foot of the bed. By varying the weight 12, the angle of inclination of the leg 9 can be changed as desired.

The bed covering 2 is formed with a pair of slits 14 and 15 along one side edge. The slit 14 extends from the side edge to a position adjacent the longitudinal centerline of the sheet while the slit 15 is generally parallel to the slit i4 and extends from the side edge and terminates short of the longitudinal centerline of the sheet. The leg 9 in traction is adapted to extend through the larger slit 1d while the rope 5 attached to the sling 4 extends through the slit 15. With this construction, the sheet 13 covers the leg of the patient which is not in traction as well as the remainder of the patients body and lies generally flat so that it can be tucked into the bottom and side edges of the bed. Thus, this arrangement allows less disturbance to the patient and results in a more functional and neater unit.

In addition to the main sheet 13, a sheet section 16 is attached to the sheet 12 and is draped over the leg 9 in traction. A sheet section 16 has a length which is substan tially equal to the distance between the slit 1% and the foot of the bed and has a width substantially equal to the length of the slit 14.

The overlying sheet section 16 is attached to the main sheet 13 by a series of tie strings lit; and 19 which are connected to the overlying section 16 and the sheet 13, respectively. The tie strings 19 are associated with the edge of the sheet bordering the slit 14 which faces toward the head of the bed so that the leg 9 can be inserted within the slit 14 without interference with the tie strings. It is contemplated that other connecting means can be employed to attach the overlying section 16 to the main sheet 13, but the tie strings 18 and 19 provide a convenient manner of attaching the members and present no problems when the sheets are laundered and ironed. If desired, the sheet section 16 can be pinned below the leg 9 by one or more pins 20.

The bed covering of the invention prevents undue exposure of the patient as well as preventing exposure to drafts. The invention enables nursing personnel to work more efficiently. The nurse does not have to check back with the patient as frequently to determine whether the patient is adequately covered and the leg in traction can be easily worked on and examined without removing the main sheet from the patient and without moving or handling the patient.

While the above description has been directed to a patient having a leg in traction, it is contemplated that the covering of the invention can also be used with patients having other leg afflictions such as burn cases, amputees, phlebitis, trauma, or severe contact dermatitis.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention.

I claim:

1. A bed covering for use for the patient having an afliicted leg, comprising a sheet having a head, a foot and a pair of side edges, one of said edges having a slit extending transverse to a line extending from the head to the foot and extending a substantial distance from said side edge and adapted to receive a leg of the patient, said slit terminating in spaced relation to the opposite side edge of the sheet, said side edge also having a second slit extending generally parallel to the first slit and located between the first slit and the head.

2. A bed covering for use with a patient having an afilicted leg, comprising a sheet having ahead, 21 foot, and a pair of side edges, one of said side edges having a slit extending transverse to a line extending from the head to the foot and adapted to receive the leg of the patient, and a separate sheet section disposed in overlapping relation to said sheet and extending from said slit toward the foot and extending from said side edge to the end of said slit, and connecting means for connecting the edge of the sheet section to the portion of the sheet bordering said slit said sheet section adapted to cover the leg.

3. A bed covering for use with a patient having a leg in traction, comprising a sheet of material including a head, a foot and a pair of side edges, one of said side edges having a slit extending transverse to a line extending from the head to the foot and extending a substantial distance from said side edge, said side edge having a second slit extending generally parallel to the first slit and located between the first slit and the head and adapted to receive a traction mechanism, a sheet section disposed in overlapping relation to the sheet and extending from the first slit toward the foot and extending from said side edge portion to the end of said slit, and connecting means 4 for connecting the edge of the sheet section to the portion of the sheet bordering the first slit with said portion being located toward the head from said first slit.

4. The structure of claim 3 in which said connecting means constitutes a plurality of tie strings.

5. A bed covering for use with a patient having a leg in traction, comprising a sheet of material including a head, a foot and a pair of side edges, one of said side edges having a slit extending transverse to a line extending from the head to the foot and extending a substantial distance from said side edge, said side edge having a second slit extending generally parallel to the first slit and located between the first slit and the head and adapted to receive a traction mechanism, said first slit extending from said side edge approximately to the longitudinal centerline of the sheet and said second slit extending from said side edge to a location short of the longitudinal centerline, a sheet section disposed in overlapping relation to the sheet and extending from the first slit toward the foot and extending from said side edge portion to the end of said slit, and connecting means for connecting the edge of the sheet section to the portion of the sheet bordering the first slit with said portion being located toward the head from said first slit.

6. A bed covering for use with a patient having a leg in traction, comprising a sheet of material including a head, a foot and a pair of side edges, one of said side edges having a slit extending transverse to a line extending from the head to the foot and extending a substantial distance from said side edge, said side edge having a second slit extending generally parallel to the first slit and located between the first slit and the head and adapted to receive a traction mechanism, a sheet section disposed in overlapping relation to a portion of the sheet and extending from adjacent said side edge of a location adjacent the end of said slit and said sheet section extending from the slit to said foot, and means for removably connecting at least one edge of said sheet section to the sheet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 609,365 8/1398 Plant 5334 2,497,186 2/1950 Pedersen 5-636 2,722,694 11/1955 Bryant 5334 XR DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Examiner.

A. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BED COVERING FOR USE FOR THE PATIENT HAVING AN AFFLICTED LEG, COMPRISING A SHEET HAVING A HEAD, A FOOT AND A PAIR OF SIDE-EDGES, ONE OF SAID EDGES HAVING A SLIT EXTENDING TRANSVERSE TO A LINE EXTENDING FROM THE HEAD TO THE FOOT AND EXTENDING A SUBSTANTIALLY DISTANCE FROM SAID SIDE EDGE AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A LEG OF THE PATIENT, SAID SLIT TERMINATING IN SPACED RELATION TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE EDGE OF THE SHEET, SAID SIDE EDGE ALSO HAVING A SECOND SLIT EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE FIRST SLIT AND LOCATED BETWEEN THE FIRST SLIT AND THE HEAD. 